


Summer in Antarctica

by Juli



Series: Days of Summer [19]
Category: Hellboy - Fandom
Genre: Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-21
Updated: 2012-08-21
Packaged: 2017-11-12 13:55:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/491796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juli/pseuds/Juli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To say that the Antarctica was not a highly sought-after vacation destination was a vast understatement - so why was there a knock on John Myer's door?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer in Antarctica

**Author's Note:**

> I'm counting down the days of summer with a ficlet a day during August.

July was the epitome of summer for many parts of the world, but not in the Antarctic. In fact, July was one of the colder months for the region, reaching temperatures of -76F on a regular basis. To say that it was not a highly sought-after vacation destination was a vast understatement. Living in the Antarctic had not been John Myers’ choice. He’d been assigned there by the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense at the request of Hellboy, who was both John’s former partner and the demon that John was in love with.

John had not fought his posting, nor had he tried to transfer out. If Hellboy wanted John in the Antarctic, then that’s where John would be. Besides, it wasn’t like he had anyone to miss him; John didn’t have many friends or any family to worry about his continued absence. In fact, the only one who seemed to care and check up on him regularly was Abe, another former teammate. The merman wasn’t exactly in a position to visit and John had made no effort to leave his icebox posting. 

The last few months had been difficult, however, ever since hearing that Hellboy, Liz and Abe no long worked with the BPRD. That was worrisome in itself, but Abe had also confided to John that Liz was pregnant with twins. The babies should have arrived months ago, yet John had received no communication from Abe for far longer than that.

His first inclination upon hearing of Hellboy’s break with the BPRB was to resign, but ultimately John decided to stay. Hellboy had made it crystal clear that he didn’t want John around, so it was no use trying to return to Hellboy’s side. Instead, John decided to stay with the agency and look for any opportunity to help his unrequited love. Unfortunately there weren’t any, no matter how hard John looked. Antarctica was far off the beaten path and John was as out of the loop as it was possible for a man to be.

A typical day for John, summer or winter, included checking the local sensors and feeds, making sure that nothing vaguely paranormal was going on that needed his attention. In the time he’d been at his post, there hadn’t been a single blip, but John checked anyway. Next, he went through his emails and official communications, looking for nuggets of information about Hellboy or any of his team. There was never anything about that either. John next made himself exercise for the whole afternoon, usually in the confines of the base’s lone building. Sometimes it got warm enough to go outside and exercise, but not often and not during the bleak month of July. 

Only after all of his tasks were done did John allow himself to indulge in escape via reading or watching movies. He was constantly grateful for modern technology. His e-reader, in particular, had saved his sanity. The incessant wind howling outside would drive John insane if he let it, so when he had a chance to curl up with a novel, he picked one that had a tropical setting. It was almost impossible to remember what it felt like to have the weather be warm and humid outside, but at least with a book, it helped him imagine it.

When John heard the first banging on the door, he assumed that something outside had broken loose and was whipping against the building in the wind. As it continued, though, he remembered that there wasn’t anything near the door. John tossed his e-reader down and headed for the security camera. With the wind whipping the snow around, the image was terrible; all he could tell was just that a very large figure dressed in a parka was at his door. The figure had its back to the camera and all John could see was that it appeared to be humanoid, was wearing a backpack and something was dangling from underneath its coat.

John would recognize that tail anywhere.

“Hellboy,” John whispered under his breath. He was only immobile with shock for a moment and then he scrambled for the door. The icy wind that hit him when he opened it took John’s breath away – or maybe it was just seeing Hellboy again.

Almost before John got the door out of the way, Hellboy tramped his way inside. The parka that he was wearing had to be specially made, given how big he was. In fact, John had forgotten how massive the demon’s size was. He felt dwarfed in a good way as Hellboy entered the station. 

“What are you doing here?” John asked even as he helped stripped Hellboy’s backpack and coat off. The material of each was stiff and caked with ice.

“Figured this would be the last place anyone would look.” Hellboy’s voice was as gruff as ever, but he didn’t meet John’s eyes. As Hellboy’s body was finally freed of the coat, John could understand why.

Hellboy had two large leather pouches hung around his neck. They moved and the reason was easy to see. Each pouch had cut-aways on the bottom and from each one, a small leg dangled out.

 

“The babies?” John asked, eyes wide with wonder as Hellboy solemnly nodded. He never thought he’d see Hellboy again, let alone Hellboy’s children. Even as the thought crossed his mind, though, John realized that something was missing. “Where’s Liz?”

Hellboy’s jaw tightened. “She didn’t make it. She survived the birth, but apparently hell spawn hybrids aren’t so easy to bring into the world. It ripped Liz up inside and she died a couple of days later.”

John closed his eyes in pain. Not only had he liked Liz, but had loved the light she brought into Hellboy’s life. “I’m so sorry.”

“I knew you would be, boy scout.” Hellboy’s face softened as he used John’s old nickname. “Now the jerks at the BPRD want my kids and I’m not about to hand the rug rats over. Can we hide here for a while?”

“Absolutely.” John’s answer was swift and firm. “For as long as you need.”

Hellboy looked uncomfortable. “Can you handle it? The kids don’t eat much, but you know how much chow I can pack away.”

John smiled. “You haven’t gotten a good look at the storeroom yet. I think there was a glitch in the supply chain somewhere. This place was fully stocked when I got here and the supplies just keep coming.” 

John had tried at one point to get them to stop, but for some reason, the supply office instead doubled his order. Once he found out that Hellboy had left the BPRD, John had stopped discouraging the overly generous shipments. In the back of his mind, he’d probably been preparing for this moment. Most of it was powdered or canned goods and so wouldn’t spoil.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments and then a loud squawk came from one of the pouches. Hellboy reached in to stroke the baby who made the noise and, as he did, he looked at John almost shyly. “You want to meet ‘em?”

“You know I do.” John gestured for Hellboy to come more fully into the space. There wasn’t really a chair big enough for the demon to sit on, but that didn’t seem to bother him any. Hellboy carefully lowered himself to the floor.

The first baby that Hellboy took out of its protective pouch was the one that had made a noise, but had since subsided once receiving comfort. It turned out to be a sturdy little boy. The baby didn’t have a stone arm the way his father did, but his skin was definitely the same red hue and looked like it had a slightly rough texture to it. There was no tail that John could see and the baby’s eyes were yellow. The infant also had a large tuft of black hair on the top of his head, giving him a slightly troll-ish look, but that comparison was dispelled when baby giggled in reaction to Hellboy gently poking him in the stomach.

“This here is Trevor Clay.” Hellboy said proudly. “Poor little spud is a chip off the old block.”

“Boy, is he.” John’s eyes felt like they were permanently stuck wide open with wonder. “Can I-…” He reached out his arms, not quite able to finish verbalizing his request to hold the baby.

Hellboy handed his son over. “Be careful, he’s heavy.”

Despite the warning, John nearly dropped the little boy. “Wow, you weren’t kidding. How old are they, anyway?”

“Four months.” The fact that Hellboy sported red skin, yellow eyes and a tail didn’t stop his expression from being different from any other proud papa. 

“Four months?” John was in shock. “But they look almost a year old.”

Hellboy shrugged. “I grow’em big.” His eyes were shadowed. “That was part of the problem for Liz.”

John flinched; he hadn’t meant to bring up bad memories for the demon. His attention was directed to the baby in his arms as Trevor snuggled close. “I think Liz would say it was worth it.”

He was rewarded with a smile, if a sad one. “Yeah, she did say something like that.” He reached into the second pouch and pulled out the other baby. “This little princess is Priscilla Elizabeth.”

It was clear that the two babies were siblings. Priscilla had the same red skin as her father and brother,  
but hers was smooth like a human’s. She also had yellow eyes and black hair, although hers was pulled into two little topknots, complete with pink bows. As Hellboy settled his daughter in his arms, John could see that Priscilla had a tail and that it was currently wrapped as far around Hellboy’s wrist as it could go. John was charmed; Priscilla was already a daddy’s girl.

“Hey there, gorgeous,” John cooed. “You look just like your mother.”

And she did. Priscilla might have Hellboy’s coloring, but John could see some of Liz’s features in the baby’s face. John reached out for Priscilla and she grabbed his hand, unerringly wrapping her hand around her finger. She was definitely a baby who knew how to work with the men in her life.

As John admired Hellboy’s daughter, a strange sound emanated from Hellboy’s son, quickly followed by a noxious smell. John’s eyes began to water. “Uh, Red. . . .”

“Trade you,” Hellboy handed over Priscilla and took Trevor. “Hand me my backpack, will you?”

John did as he was asked and bounced the baby on his hip as he watched Hellboy change Trevor’s diaper. Anyone who’d seen Hellboy with a kitten knew how gentle he could be, but it was still incredible to see the demon handle his child. 

“Only have a couple of diapers left.” Hellboy looked up from his task. “I don’t suppose your supply master sent you any of those, did he.”

“No, but I’ve got more towels than I know what to do with.” John said after a moment’s thought. “We’ll figure something out.”

Priscilla apparently took exception to the men talking to each other and not her. She wiggled in John’s arms and reached her arms out to her father.

“Just a minute, sweetheart,” John tried to comfort the baby. “Your daddy’ll be done with your brother in a jiffy.”

Hellboy’s head snapped up. “Oh, no, Boy Scout. Wrong thing to say.”

“What?” John started a rocking motion as Priscilla continued to fuss. 

“She doesn’t like to share.” Hellboy explained. “And sometimes she’s a little bit too much like her momma.”

John was about to ask what that meant when Priscilla’s little topknots burst into flame. Considering how close to John’s face they were, it was lucky for him that the fires were heatless.

“I see what you mean.” John managed not to drop the baby.

“Prissy, stop it.” Hellboy told his daughter. He’d finished up with Trevor and had the boy in his arms. Priscilla’s eyes filled up with tears, but her hair stayed lit.

“Hey now,” John was gentle but firm as he ever-so-softly tapped Priscilla on the nose. “Proper young ladies don’t set their hair on fire for no good reason.”

Priscilla’s hair went out and John was relieved to see that the baby was unharmed. He kissed the infant and praised her. “Good girl.” Priscilla gurgled happily back.

“How’d you do that?” Hellboy held up his hand, forestalling an answer. “It doesn’t matter, we obviously came to the right place.” He shuffled his feet, looking bashful. “Look, Myers, I never did say I’m sorry. About sending you here.”

“It’s okay.” John hurried to reassure him. “I don’t mind. You waited a long time to get together with Liz and you thought I was in love with her too. I would have done the same thing.”

Hellboy shook his head. “It wasn’t just that. I was worried that, after waiting for Liz for so long, that I’d betray her if I was around you any longer.”

John blinked. “You wanted me too?”

“Still do.” Hellboy’s voice was quiet. “Before Liz passed, she told me not to be an idiot and to come to you.”

“So you didn’t just come to hide out here.” John swallowed a couple of times.

“Not just, no.” 

The two men locked gazes and it was Hellboy who looked away. John smiled fondly, Red never had been comfortable with strong emotions. Hellboy tickled his son under his chin to make him laugh, an obvious attempt to change the topic. “Abe and Krauss are laying a false trail. We lay low for a couple of months and we should be good.”

“When you leave,” John said with determination, “I’m coming with you.”

Hellboy smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

John smiled back. It was hard to believe that an hour earlier, his life had seemed as bleak as the environment he lived in. In less time than it took to bake a cake, John had gained a family and a second chance with the love of his life.

Silence descended, but it was a comfortable one, occasionally broken by the coo of a happy baby. Some of the sadness that seemed to infuse Hellboy when he arrived lifted. With a hint of his old sense of humor, Hellboy addressed John almost slyly.

“You know what this place needs, Boy Scout? It needs some cats.”

~the end~


End file.
